A Rose By Any Other Name
by Howl for the Moon
Summary: Warning: Fem Evan. Part Three of the Thirty Theme Challenge. Evanna is finally coming to some realizations of her own. Still struggling to understand how she feels about Pietro. The X-men and Pietro aren't making it any easier for her.


Evanna sighed, she was doodling in her notebook. Her expression was thoughtful as she drew different things, hearts, wings, and clouds. She was surprised when a note landed on her desk. Picking it up she looked up glancing around. Kurt was looking at her, when he saw he had her attention he motioned for her to open it.

_ Not to freak you out my friend, but Maximoff is staring at you again._

Evanna frowned and looked at Kurt, her expression twisted into one of confusion. There was no way Maximoff was staring at her. Though, she felt a faint flush spread across the back of her neck as she remembered the brief but passionate kisses he had been sneaking in ever since the Valentine's day dance. He had been getting particularly touchy lately. She shrugged her shoulders rolling them and tilting her head so that her neck was cracking back into a comfortable position. As she was rolling her shoulders back her eyes met mercury ones and she felt the flush spreading to her cheeks and she looked away. Why was he staring at her? She scowled gently; she had to put an end to this. She wasn't some play thing for him! She was Evanna Daniels for crying out loud, and she was not a pushover for Pietro anymore!

_I wonder why? He's probably up to something. Wonder what though?_

She tossed the note back to Kurt watching from the corner of her eye as he read it nodding in what seemed to be agreement. Their teacher began to hand out assignments. "Okay, so I'll be assigning partners for this play reading. Kurt and April, you will be performing a piece from "Taming of the Shrew. You shall be performing Katherina Minola and Petruchio."

Evanna smiled a bit, watching as the teacher continued to hand out assignments, though her heart was starting to pound in her ears as she realized the teacher was winding down to the end and she still hadn't been assigned a partner…neither had Pietro. "Finally, Pietro and Evanna, you will also be performing Romeo and Juliet. The Crypt scene, yes kiss and all. I trust that you can keep it professional. Yes, I believe these pairings will work quite nicely. You are free to speak to me about your pairings but I assigned these for a reason."

Evanna sighed, so they had to perform Romeo and Juliet, big deal. She accepted the small play book, her section already marked, though she would probably re read through the play just to get a feel for it again. They had studied it briefly in middle school, but her appreciation of it would probably be different now that she was in high school. Not to mention she was going through something she supposes she could relate to Juliet with. Though she wasn't going to say she _loved_ Pietro. Still though, they had history and history always made things complicated.

She sighed in gratitude when the bell rang, she had been struggling with Pietro. He was insisting that running through lines was stupid since his talents alone were obviously going to get them an A. She shoved her script into her bag and looked at Pietro before she shook her head and turned away. She didn't know how to begin in telling him she didn't want to work with him. She would have to think on it. She sighed in annoyance as some of her hair fell into her face. Her hair had grown out even more, now falling past her shoulders and settling comfortably just under her shoulder blades. She had been tending to it to the point of being called obsessive. She didn't realize it until she started to do it, but she did miss her long hair, and she hoped that she could grow it out to the point it had been when she was younger.

It was around lunch when she finally managed to catch up to Pietro, or rather he had her cornered under the stairs where people almost never looked. She was panicking as she looked around, she just needed an out. Just a way to get away, that was all she wanted. No, that wasn't right, what her mind was telling her and what her body was saying were totally out of sync. Her mind was telling her there was no way she should be here right now, she was going to get in so much trouble if the Prof. or Jean got even a hint of this from her mind. Her body on the other hand was telling her don't you move one inch, stay here and enjoy being with him. You've wanted this for so long! She sighed as she looked at him, letting her bag fall to the ground after she had taken out the script.

"I'm glad you found me. I needed to talk to you about the scene…Pietro, I'm going to request a new partner or find a different way to make the grade. I can't do this with you. I shouldn't even be here now." She looked at him, her expression firm as she tried not to show that her heart was really beating against her chest as furious as a humming bird's wing.

Seeing that he wasn't going to respond she bent down and grabbed her bag, moving to shoulder past him. She grit her teeth as she felt him grab her arm and pull her back, he crowded her into the corner his head bowed close to hers as his mercury eyes bored into her dark brown ones. "You don't get a choice. I never get to spend time with you, and this assignment is the perfect chance for me to see you. Alone, no X-men babysitters around."

Evanna opened her mouth to argue against him, but he caught her in a searing kiss. His mouth hot against hers, and her heart was in her throat as she fought against her body's natural reaction to him. She didn't want to be kissing him, she didn't want to be brain washed by him. She wasn't the same girl he knew anymore! She had grown and she had changed. Putting her hands against his chest and pushing until she managed to create a small space between them. Ducking down she grabbed her bag and sprinted from under his arm. He turned around and moved to grab her, but the look in her eyes made him stop. She had this sort of panicked, frightened expression on her face. While part of Pietro relished the look, it made something primal with in him stir. He couldn't fight the larger part of him, the part that did care about her. That had ever since they had met as children.

"I'll give you this much Pietro. I won't request a partner change, I won't tell anyone what you've been doing the last few months. Just, leave me alone. Let me work out my own head, ok?" She looked at him, and for a moment Pietro wanted to deny her that small reprieve. But, a stronger part of him nodded, and watched as she walked away, heading outside to be with those X-men losers.

Evanna sighed as she sat at the lunch table, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Scott, and Jean already there. She drained her carton of milk first before she started to try and figure out what the mystery meat was for the day. Though to be fair, she had been eating from corner street vendors in New York for ages. She shouldn't be afraid of something as minor as mystery meat. With that thought she took a bite, shivering in disgust, not at the taste, but at the lukewarm feel of it on her tongue. She sat there, toying with the food instead of eating it, just thinking about what decision she would make in the end. She wasn't foolish enough to think she would have very long. Pietro might have given her a little break but he was definitely not the type to let something like this go.

_'Do I follow what my heart is saying? Or do I do what I know is right? He's not a good person now. Mystique has him totally backwards from the Pietro I know…ugh you know what?! This sucks! Big time!'_

She sighed as she continued messing with her food. Just stirring it up, and making a face at it. Running her hands through her hair, she suddenly slammed her fist onto the table and stood up. She just couldn't think right now. Kitty jumped and looked at her wide eyed. "Like whoa, what's your like problem?"

Evanna blinked, remembering she was at the table. "Oh, sorry…I just have a lot on my mind." She nodded as she said this, her mind going back to the play and all of her mixed up emotions.

"Yeah, give her a break Kitty. She has to perform a kiss scene with Maximoff." Kurt chimed in trying to be helpful. He looked at Evanna with something like sympathy.

"Vanna, are you sure that's a good idea?" Jean, put her hand on top of Evanna's trying to be comforting but all it did was make her flinch away in guilt.

"No, but I have thought about this much. I can't let him be partnered with someone normal. What if he shows his power?" She had thought about that, and at first she had thought it would be more then worth it. Being rid of him and having another partner one who didn't practically twist her heart into knots.

"Whoa, you and Maximoff. Freaky, I mean like he's totally always staring at you and stuff." Kitty was trying to talk her out of it, but Evanna wasn't going to go back on her word to Pietro. She would play his game, but she wasn't going to let him play her as well.

"Yeah, I've noticed Kitty. Still, unless Kurt wants to play Juliet there's not much I can do. If Maximoff shows off his X-gene…then he might tell someone I have one too. He's not the type to go half-way. He's always been the type to do things the way he wants, and that's big and loud." She sighed as she grabbed her bag. "Listen, I'd better go. My English paper isn't going to write itself and I need to grab some books before we head back to the institute today."

With that she left the table, and her friends to talk about whatever it was they wanted to talk about. She went to her locker opening it she pulled out her books and looked at them sighing heavily. Pietro always messed with her head. Whenever she thought she had them figured out he threw her for a new loop. She wasn't his plaything but she wasn't exactly his girlfriend either. What kind of label was she supposed to put on herself for them? Were they enemies with benefits…no that made it sound like they did more than kiss. Two people who got lost in the heat of passion despite how much they hated each other? There had to be some term for it.

She sighed, slamming the locker door as she turned leaning on it. "Pietro, why are you doing this to me?" She grit her teeth in frustration. She didn't know what to do, she just didn't!

_'Who knew being in love was going to confuse me this much. If I had known this I wouldn't have bothered with it.'_

She froze, the word love echoing in her mind as she thought it. Did she love him? Wasn't he the one with all the feelings even if they were possessive? She couldn't afford to love him. Pietro would use her and then leave her. She'd seen him do it before. Wasn't the Valentine's Day dance proof enough? He had gone with not one, not two but four dates! Still he had come after her and ruined hers. Was it jealousy that made him do it? No, it didn't matter what his reasoning was. She had to figure out how she felt.

Did she love him, or was it just that teenage thing. She sighed as she tried to figure it out, her hand to her forehead. She had her mind running through everything that she could possibly think of. Did she like it when he kissed her? Well, not when he was doing it…not at first anyway. Still, it made something warm bubble in her stomach. Was that a good sign? The biggest question was…did she like him? No…she didn't. That answer was clear as day to her. She didn't like the Pietro that he was now. The one that Mystique had twisted him into. She did like the old Pietro though…she missed that Pietro. He was arrogant, and a total pain. He was sincere though, and she might not love this Pietro, but she did love the old him. Her eyes widened and it almost felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She did…she loved Pietro. What was she supposed to do now? She'd opened the door to this, and now there wasn't going to be anyway to stop it. Not without a lot of effort anyway.

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Authors Note:

Thank you to those who reviewed and told me how much you enjoyed the story. I apologize for any grammar errors; I still haven't been able to find a Beta for this. I also, am now out of school. So I will be trying to get this version of thirty kisses done before the New Year. It might not happen but I am going to try. As always thank you for reading! Read and Review please!


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